Monday, 30 April 2012

PERSONAL VISION: Two Cuban nationals bring inspired craft to a new exhibit

UP AND AWAY: Delmonte's "Parking Lot."

Creative souls Eugenio D’Melon and Israel Delmonte, both Havana natives, possess a genuine knack for cleverly juxtaposing the notions of precision, humanity and beauty with a sense of the subversive in their works. This is abundantly evident in their new joint exhibition “D & D Distillers,” currently on view, through May 12, at the Mutual Gallery.

Pulling you in with a richly polychromatic palette and a fascinating meditation on everything from spirituality and the great outdoors to themes of emptiness and solitude, the pieces are nothing if not attention-grabbing and open to sweeping interpretations. Such Delmonte oils as “Parking Lot” and “Monument” (with their bold strokes and lush hues) are subtle in their references to latter-day Caribbean attitudes toward religion, while D'Melon vividly demonstrates a taste for blending incongruous elements which ultimately elevates his relatively small xerographs into mysteries of enigmatic scope.

Overall though, the real feat that these gifted Hispanic artists pull of with laudable skill is rooted in how they fashion wonderful art out of life’s ordinariness.

“D & D Distillers” is on view at the Mutual Gallery, Oxford Road, through May 12.